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Sant'Elena Review

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Sant'Elena

Fodor's Review:

Hermit monks in the ninth century built the first chapel on what was then a scrap of land flanked by mud flats. The church here today was a 13th-century creation built to receive pilgrims bound for the Holy Land and was aptly dedicated to Emperor Constantine's mother, Sant'Elena, who legend says, chose this island herself as a final resting place -- it seems the Venetian galley transporting Sant'Elena's reliquary from Constantinople mysteriously ran aground near the island. Monks from Mt. Olive in Tuscany rebuilt the church and added its Renaissance doorway with Commander Vittore Cappello kneeling before St. Helen in Antonio Rizzo's sculptural group. The interior, touching in its simplicity, has faded frescoes with floral and angelic motifs awaiting restoration. There are ceiling nets strung to protect worshippers from loose debris; they make it hard to appreciate three medallions on the cross vault representing San Marco, San Benedetto, and San Nicola da Bari, patron saint of navigators. Sant'Elena wasn't nearly as stark before Napoléon closed the church and spirited away 60 carved wooden choir stalls, for which the church was renowned, and much of the other artwork as well. He might have taken the saint herself if someone hadn't stashed her in nearby San Pietro di Castello. You can see her now in the chapel to the right of the front door.

Work on Sant'Elena's foundation revealed a history few had even guessed when a number of forni (ovens) were uncovered. It seems the monks were in business baking bread for sea voyages and cooking for crews anchored nearby. Historians believe Sant'Elena was used to off-load precious cargo, often as not pilfered, during Serenissima naval excursions. The land around the church grew considerably in the last century due to the deposit of the city's refuse as landfill, which makes the foundation for the nearby naval school and soccer stadium. The church's 1950s cement bell tower, though not a great match for the rest of the structure, has become a fixture in the skyline for so long it's unlikely to disappear anytime soon -- at least not like a former one did. Though old drawings show a bell tower, it vanished without a trace, never to be seen nor written about after the 1700s.

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